JAZZ BASSIST AND EDUCATOR

As a professor of music at a music school, one topic that is near to my heart is the question of whether the study of music is a viable choice for young people entering college. When I was a student entering music school as a composition major, I had a wonderful introduction to the subject by Dr. Nelson Keyes,… Read more →

I first realized that I had been a serial monogamist all my life while having a discussion with my wife early in our marriage. While we were dating, I was a jazz pianist who doubled on electric bass for fun and to make money, but it was clear that piano was the true musical passion and “soul mate” in my… Read more →

In every young musician’s development, there are giants in the landscape, central figures whose polar influence helps transform a soft lump of unrealized possibility into a stronger and more viable form that can move forward with focus, discipline, and a sense of purpose. Some of these giants forge this transformation with force of personality, some with fear of disapproval, some with a… Read more →

“Those roles which, being neither those of hero nor Heroine, Confidante nor Villain, but which were none the less essential to bring about the Recognition or the denouement of the story were called the Fifth Business in drama and Opera companies organized according to the old style; the player who acted these parts was often referred to as Fifth Business.”… Read more →